Early Ayres shuttlecocks

Three interesting feather shuttlecocks displayed in the National Badminton Museum were made by F.H. Ayres, Ltd., and dating circa 1890’s. The original box donated with the shuttles by Kathie Adams described the shuttles as India Rubber Bottom Shuttlecocks, guaranteed British Manufacture, and they are much bigger and heavier than present day shuttles, weighing 11 g and being 10 cm in height.

These shuttlecocks are featured in the English Heritage book - A Load of Balls, by Simon Inglis in 2005, and our photograph is the picture in that book taken by Simon when he visited the museum at Milton Keynes,